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Anna Saito Carson

Anna Saito Carson is the Vice President of Development at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). As a member of the executive team, she leads the Center’s fundraising efforts and serves as a trusted advisor to and co-strategist with the CEO to align fundraising strategies with its institutional and programmatic priorities.

Before joining CNAS in November 2018, Ms. Saito Carson served as Head of Strategic Accounts for The Global Business Policy Council (GBPC)—a specialized foresight and strategic analysis unit within global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. During her tenure, she relaunched and institutionalized the CEO membership program from the ground up and defined, marketed, and monetized GBPC’s offerings to client members—efforts that resulted in unparalleled membership revenue growth between 2016 and 2018.

Previously, Ms. Saito Carson was Director of Corporate Relations, Strategic Planning and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In this position, she spearheaded corporate partnerships and played an instrumental role in securing and standing up the Project on U.S. Leadership in Development—a multimillion-dollar effort and the largest programmatic corporate grant in CSIS’ 50-year history at the time. Ms. Saito Carson also championed stakeholder outreach strategies for this initiative to elevate the policy dialogue on global development issues by targeting thought leaders from governments, corporations, NGOs, and philanthropies. Earlier in her career, she worked at Deutsche Bank, The World Bank, and the Japan Center for International Finance.

Ms. Saito Carson holds an MA in International Relations and International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a BA in International Studies and Spanish/Latin American Studies from American University. As a multicultural, multilingual business executive, she has traveled internationally to influence C-level outreach and lead strategic partnerships. Ms. Saito Carson lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and daughter.